Win! PETA Scores Vital Records on Monkey Experiments in UMass Lawsuit
Victory! The University of Massachusetts – Amherst (UMass) tried to hide records of its cruel monkey experiments, but a PETA lawsuit just forced out the truth.
PETA’s public records lawsuit against UMass reached a settlement, and PETA won all the information about its experiments on marmosets that the university tried to keep hidden. PETA will receive all videos, photos, and other documentation about cruel experiments on marmosets conducted in the laboratory of Agnés Lacreuse that were previously withheld, and the university will also pay PETA $50,000 for legal fees.
According to the settlement, PETA will also receive the names of those currently serving on the university’s institutional animal care and use committee. The committee reviews, approves, or rejects experiments on animals and is responsible for ensuring adherence to animal protection laws and regulations.
PETA filed the lawsuit in Suffolk County Superior Court in Massachusetts in September 2022 after the university refused to fulfill requests for photos, video, and other documentation, in apparent violation of Massachusetts Public Records Law. PETA scientists and attorneys will review all records as they are released.
How Monkeys Suffer in UMass Experiments
In nature, marmosets live high up in the canopies of rainforests in tight-knit social groups of up to three generations of family members. The monkeys in Lacreuse’s laboratory are deprived of everything important to them and subjected to invasive, frightening, and deadly procedures. In Lacreuse’s laboratory, experimenters screwed electrodes onto marmosets’ skulls, deprived them of water, and shoved them into plastic cylinders. Many of the experiments purport to study menopause, which marmosets don’t experience. Lacreuse has squandered over $6 million in taxpayer funds on these wasteful, curiosity-driven tests.
PETA has also urged federal officials to investigate whether Lacreuse misused taxpayer money after she spent approximately $340,000 on a failed sleep deprivation experiment at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center.
Speak Up for Monkeys in UMass Laboratories
This legal win shows laboratories that PETA and its supporters will hold them accountable and review all public records. Help PETA urge UMass to stop Lacreuse’s experiments on gentle marmosets right now:
